The present inventive concepts relate to a substrate transfer apparatus.
Substrate transfer devices, such as equipment front end modules (EFEMs), include chambers maintained at a high degree of cleanliness, and fan filter units (FFUs), allowing clean air to be introduced into chambers, are commonly disposed on upper portions of the chambers. Air is blown downwardly within chambers by fan filter units, and contamination particles in the chambers are transferred downstream of the chambers by air downflow and exhausted externally.
However, in the case of FFUs, gaps between inner sidewall surfaces of chambers and FFUs, caused due to mounting conditions thereof, may be present. Such gaps may cause the occurrence of backward facing step flow-type recirculation regions in corner portions of chambers, e.g., spaces formed as a portion of downflowing air flows backwards toward upper portions along sidewall surfaces thereof. Such recirculation regions may delay the discharge of floating contamination particles and cause contamination of sidewall surfaces, filters, wafers, and the like.